Hepatitis C
More than 2,000 women have been warned that they may have contracted hepatitis C after being treated by a gynaecologist suffering from the virus.
Patients from 25 hospitals in England and two health boards in Scotland have received a letter from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) urging them to be tested.
The doctor, whose name cannot be revealed, had not originally known he or she was suffering from the disease, which often does not reveal any symptoms.
Dr Fortune Ncube, a consultant epidemiologist for the HPA, said: "Although the chances of having been infected are very small, I would advise patients to take a test if they have received a notification letter. People can have hepatitis C without knowing it and modern treatment can pre-empt the onset of severe liver disease for many patients."
